ABSTRACT
This chapter is an attempt to explore the double binds of emotions in the Indian reflective traditions. There are at least two interwoven paths to explore the ends of emotions in Indian (Sanskrit) reflective traditions. These paths can be configured as śāstra- and kāvya-mārgas. The profound enigma or secrecy of the literary composition, says Rājaśekhara, can be discerned only by the learned ones and serve only the competent person. In other words, the performative response of the bhāvaka can, in all likelihood, manifest more in his/her poetic compositions. Brought forth as the effect of such an apparatus, but serving as its ineluctable medium, everybody is exposed to the play of the chiasmic antinomies. Literary inquiries across centuries have received and responded actively to Bharata's own responsive compositions. The living on of the vāṅmaya is deeply dependent on this disseminative detour.
